Aircraft model
PIPER PA-22-160
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 160 hp Tri-Pacer, the final and most powerful version, built from 1958. At 117 knots it is genuinely quick for a fabric aeroplane of this size and price, and with 160 hp it climbs properly with three or four aboard, which the 125 and 135 hp versions do not. Of the Tri-Pacers this is the one worth having.
The fabric question remains the first and most important one: establish the covering's age and type, because a recover costs more than the aeroplane is worth and the tube structure underneath needs inspecting for corrosion at the same time. The handling quirks are unchanged — a tall, short-coupled stance that feels unstable on the ground, interconnected aileron and rudder on many examples, and a steep power-off approach. Parts for the airframe are available but Piper support is long gone and the type club matters. Many have been converted to tailwheel Pacer configuration, which changes the endorsement requirement, the handling and usually the value.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-22-160 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-22-160
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320-B2B |
| Horsepower | 160 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1958 |
| Production end | 1960 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 117 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 480 nm |
| Service ceiling | 16,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 800 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,480 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,280 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 890 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 674 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,000 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,110 lb |
| Usable fuel | 36 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $39,500 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $90,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $28,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $40,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 1,116 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 456 |
| Median year built | 1958.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 22 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 48.251 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 39.472 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 94 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 20.613 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 456 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 456 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 456 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 3.9 of 101 |
| Severity | 7.5 of 102 |
| Access | 4.3 of 103 |
| Support | 7.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 5.8 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 29.1 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.